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Clarkson University

This submission reflects this organization's contribution to the climate effort, representative of their current actions and commitments as well as the ways in which they intend to step up and collaborate with others.

Clarkson University's Climate Action Contribution

About Clarkson University's Climate Efforts

Through Second Nature Climate Commitments, we are striving for net zero GHG emissions by 2025

Climate Action Commitments

Current Climate Actions Clarkson University Is Taking:

Commit to Responsible Engagement in Climate Policy

While individual organization action is necessary, local and federal government action is also needed to reach global climate goals. Your organization can have a critical voice in advancing public policy. A commitment to responsible engagement in climate policy means that your organization commits to supporting public policy to: promote energy efficiency and renewable energy; increase investment in a clean energy economy; support climate change adaptation, or put a price on carbon.

Commit to Managing Campus Landholdings as a Carbon Sink

Using proper verification protocols, campuses can use landholdings to sequester carbon. In the cases of large university landholders, this can provide significant “negative carbon emissions” if properly managed. This strategy could be cross-sectorally combined with a public land protection strategy.

Commit to Completing a Resilience Assessment in Partnership with your Community

The Resilience Assessment is a key process to understand current strengths and vulnerabilities of the campus and community. This should be completed through research, in person forums, or other processes to engage your stakeholders in this assessment.

Sign one of the Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitments

President’s Climate Leadership Commitments are signed by Higher Education presidents and chancellors. They can sign either the Carbon or the Resilience Commitment, or the integrated Climate Commitment. The commitments require strong leadership to create a implementation structures on campuses, complete GHG inventories, develop climate action plans and consistently report on progress.

New Climate Actions Clarkson University Commits To Take:

Commit to Reducing the Climate Impact of Your Transportation

Organizations making a commitment to reduce the climate impact of transportation should consider practices such as measuring transportation greenhouse gas emissions and setting reduction targets, switching fuels, optimizing the efficiency of shipping operations, and reducing transit- and travel-related greenhouse gas emissions. Businesses can develop a green transportation action plan to map the movement of goods to market and identify opportunities to increase efficiency. Organizations can buy hybrid and electric vehicles within their own fleet, and can reduce the footprint of their workforce through incentivizing public transportation, installing EV charging stations, promoting telework, and locating near transit centers.

Commit to Creating a Campus Price for Carbon

Using your own preferred methodology, create a internal carbon price or tax to help incentivize and or fund carbon reduction efforts. This can be a parallel or separate effort to supporting national or local carbon pricing policies, with your institution as an example of the policy in action

Invest Endowment Funds in Clean Energy and Technology Solutions

Aligning college or university investments that are aligned with both the mission of the university and climate solutions can create significant win-win-win opportunities. Funding emerging innovations in clean energy through dedicating part of the investment portfolio can create new markets for climate solutions, help campuses meet socially-responsible climate targets through new products and services that reduce carbon emissions, and provide strong financial returns to meet fiduciary responsibility.

Many campus climate action plans have not been updated in nearly a decade and much in the world has changed since they were first created. Build off of existing examples of climate action plans within the private sector, and/or look at local, city, state, regional, or international examples to allign or exceed your climate goals with new updates. These revisions could also be done in conjunction with a cross-sector forum.

Areas For Collaboration

We are interested in collaborating on the following:

Electric Vehicles

Promoting increased charging infrastructure

Local Collaboration

Collaborate on climate and clean energy action, and to advocate for stronger climate policy at the local level

Utility Sector

Supporting states, cities, and utilities in decarbonizing their energy supply

Organization details

Clarkson University is a nationally ranked research university, we are the institution of choice for more than 4,300 enterprising, high-ability undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in 50+ rigorous academic programs of study. Our faculty are on the leading edge of research of international relevance. Across the institution and its campus locations across New York, faculty and students develop close, mentoring relationships and make lifelong connections that guide career success.

Clarkson produces remarkably effective engineers, scientists, educators, health professionals, business people, and creative leaders who easily engage “What’s next?”. We do it by creating an exceptionally demanding, boundary-spanning experience in an entrepreneurial community known for its core values, technology intensive resources, and appreciation of the Adirondack Park just beyond our doorstep.